Showing posts with label Capital One Cup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Capital One Cup. Show all posts

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Arsenal Low on Cover as Bayern Clash closes in

Well, Well, Well, as I last wrote about the fragility in the squad despite strong performances in the premiere league, it feels that there is much more to it than it meets the eye.

Campbell finally makes his mark for Gunners
Yes, we pulled another victory last night against Swansea City with goals from the French duo (Giroud & Koscielny) once again along with the long lost child Joel Campbell who finally showed the skills to stick in the first team. Once again, Ozil took the front seat with Alexis Sanchez finding his 'born to kill' talent again on the pitch.

The result has left us level on top with Manchester City on points in the league while the latter takes top slot on goal difference. However, the result seems to have covered up the clear flaws which have been a problem for Arsenal. Particularly, the outcome of the Capitol One Cup exit to the hands of Sheffield Wednesday at their home.
Walcott back in infirmary.

Number one as highlighted in the earlier post is the number of injured players Arsenal now have so far after the League cup exit. Walcott and Chamberlain picked up injuries within the span of 20 minutes of the Capitol One Cup fixture and they joined Ramsey, Wilshere. Welbeck, Ospina, Arteta and Rosicky. None of them available for the UEFA Champions League tie with Bayern at Allianz Arena which leaves Giroud the lone central striker for Gunners till at least December.


Chamberlain out till Int'l break.
Moreover with no further addition during the transfer window, things have started to look quite tight with availability of strong back-ups in the midfield and as well as on the offense. The right flank especially is placed open for Joel Campbell who showed strong legs and fine set of talent for just one game now so far.

The other option is the Academy boy Alex Iwobi who has been in sparkling form in the youth team. Unfortunately, Santi Cazorla and Francios Coquelin have to be cautious and extra vigilant about their fitness level as they have no back-up so far.

Defense still a concern for Arsenal.
Second major problem which is seen in this past week is the complacency in the defensive line which resulted in a humiliating loss in Capitol One Cup and as well as gave Swansea City two absolutely clear goal opportunities which were ruined by Swansea striker Bafetimbe Gomis and cleared by Hector-Flash Bellerin. No matter how strong it may have been for Gunners to have Petr Cech as their ultimate savior, Arsenal back four should not be caught napping in any game.

This sort of stance is what Bayern would be looking for in the Arsenal team to exploit when they meet at Munich for another crunch tie which would determine the course of Arsenal's progress in the UEFA Champion's League this season. 

With full strength in the squad and a clear eye of vengeance, the German champions would strike hard against the Gunners at home and a slight lack of concentration could cause a lot of turbulence in the European competition as well as the title challenge in the Premiere League.

Tell us how what you think through a comment and thank you for reading patiently.

COYG! Salud. 






Sunday, September 27, 2015

Feiry Flams & Stunning Sanchez: Reasons for Gunners to Rejoice

Last week's dreadful show and this week's display makes a perfect moment to recall a famous line of Al Pacino in The Godfather III movie which was, "Äs soon as I thought I was out, they pulled me back in."

Yes, this is the week to bask in immense delight for all the Goonars as Arsenal made a statement to quiet down all the doubters and put a stop to the taunts by many that a top class proven striker is what Gunners actually require to fight for the title. Well, not so much if you take in the accounts of how we played at White Hart Lane in our Capitol One Cup tie against Tottenham but last night practically shut down all the critics who has the fan drive against the Gunner's boss.

Wednesday night seemed to be a bit of stuttering approach as fresh loss to Chelsea was looming over the players and the absence of Coquelin, due to injury, saw two veterans Arteta and Flamini filling in the position with no Cazorla in the squad along with Ospina, Debuchy and Campbell coming in the line up.

Flamini Shines for Arsenal in Capital One Cup
That seemed to be working against the team until Flamini popped in the picture, scoring his first on the rebound, followed by a spectacular volley finish that completely broke down Spurs and saw them out of the competition on a night where Giroud again came a bit clueless with his approach on the goal.

However when dumping our North London rivals in a slightly fortunate manner wasn't enough, a complete assault came in at Leicester in the Premiere League fixture yesterday where the Gunners finally went in with all guns blazing on the offensive, particularly with the man in question who lead the Arsenal goal scoring stat last season - Alexis Sanchez And also especially against the only team with an unbeaten record in the League which seemed unstoppable till the very game at their home.

Alexis Sanchez is back with a Bang.
After giving away the first goal in the early minutes of the game, Arsenal had the hard work cut out against a strong team laid out in front of them by Claudio Raneiri but the counter attacking mindset paid off with Walcott equalizing due to an excellent pass by Santi Cazorla.

Then came in the dazzling Chilean with an appetite, scoring his first of the season on a Bellerin cross, then heading off an excellent Ozil lob for his second which by his his trademark long shot finish from 20 odd yards to bag his first hat-trick in the Premiere League.

Although, Jamie Vardy scored again following his first to make the Gunners nervous but Giroud came off the bench to grab the fifth and end the powerful run of Leicester City to a complete stop.

Wenger rejoiced following Arsenal's strong Comeback.
This victorious week has given great boost to the fact that Arsene Wenger had given the fans a great reason to get behind him and most importantly the team itself. Moreover, questions that loomed about having a renowned proven striker signing might be out to rest as all three designated forwards were on the score sheet.

However, the need of a strong defensive midfield back up seems to be the area that should concern Wenger the most as Flamini and Arteta could only provide limited cover for Coquelin, the man who has become the actual anchor for Arsenal since last season.

Although he would be back in a week's time to face Manchester United at home but any serious injury to him may leave Gunners on the back-foot so let's hope he stays fit along with Arteta and Flamini in the squad till January transfer window.


What's your opinion on it? Do tell through your comments and Thank you once again for reading. Till next time, Come On You Gunners!! Cheers.






Monday, September 21, 2015

A True Red Week for Gunners

Well Surprise, Surprise. If you couldn't comprehend from the post's title already, the following will give you a whirlwind round up of how Gunners fared in this past week's horrendous displays of RED on the pitch.

After setting the tone from the home victory against Stoke City, the plan was to build up the pressure over our London rivals Chelsea who had been in the dumps so far. Instead, Arsenal nose dived at Dynamo Zagreb by not only losing to the hosts but also seeing the lone striker Olivier Giroud pick up a red card with his own wrong doing.

While Walcott scored first CL goal for the season in the game, it was astonishingly confusing to see Wenger trying up numerous questionable changes in the squad despite knowing the criticality of starting strong in the UEFA Champion's League.

Leaving Ramsey, Bellerin, Walcott, Coquelin, Monreal and more importantly the only but the most vital signing of the season, Petr Cech on the bench proved to be the worst idea that the Gunner's boss could come up with in a CL opener and resulted in a disappointed loss for the team which includes Giroud's ouster. This fact was later on admitted by him at the post match press conference.

And if that wasn't enough to damage the confidence, the Saturday afternoon fixture becoming the crash landing site for the North London club at Stamford Bridge. A game which started as a see-saw attacking fiesta, ended in a total fiasco for Gunners which resulted not only in a loss but seeing two players sent off in a single game with one in particular the most talked about in this past weekend.

Costa's Antics left Gunners Speechless
Referee Mike Dean was also to be blamed for his inability to see things clearly and stood quite unfair in the scheme of things, leading to a storm of criticism in the most controversial game of this season so far where the wittiness was used by Chelsea to beat Arsenal at their home.

Although many have criticized Diego Costa for his antics and devious way to have Gabriel Paulista sent off after being clearly being the one to receive it, the Arsenal defender let him get under his skin and fell pray while not controlling his emotions in the derby.

That Red card proved to be the decider as Gunners gave away the first goal from the set-piece after Gabriel's dismissal and plunged further down as Cazorla pick up his 2nd yellow in the game to become the 3rd Arsenal player to get a red card in 2 matches. That led to the 2nd goal of the match, making it the last nail in the coffin for Arsenal.

Wenger finding more plunge than rise.
All in all, the tactical failure of Arsene Wenger in Dynamo led to a disastrous weekend which has left the team with a lot of questions to be answered as they visit Tottenham Spurs on Tuesday night in their Capitol One Cup clash.

Has the transfer policy fired back? Are Gunners habitual now to repeat their performances against major sides every season? Is Arsene Wenger still the right man to manage the team as a team besides as a club? Can Arsenal bounce back to show that they are still in the race for the title glory this season?

Tuesday night may be the night to have all of these questions answered.

What's your opinion about it? Leave a comment below and thanks once again for reading patiently.

Cheers!






Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Capital Shootout Critically Dealt in Reading


And We are back with a late addition to cover the recent ridiculously symmetrical displays of Gunners at away games over the last 10 days. It also includes late night's overpowering away Victory at Reading in the Premiere League.

Yes, again the voices were raised and the mouths were left gaping in shock when Arsenal were seen off by a League 2 minnows Bradford in the Capital One Cup Quarter Final last Wednesday.

Another Tremor hitting performance where the Gunners played an all-strength team and their strikers still couldn't find the back of the opponent's net till the dying moments of the game; thanks to Le Capitiane Vermaelen who had to leave his defensive post to do the offensive task as well.

Bradford, in their home turf, seemed to dictate the terms to Arsenal in the end at the penalty shootout after being pressed on with only 36% possession on the field during the entire 120 minutes.

This humiliating elimination from the smallest competition added further fuel to the already fiery question among the critics and the Arsenal fans whether 'if Arsene Wenger can further do Arsenal any good".

Furthermore, Theo Walcott has become more adamant in signing a new deal with the Gunners and the talks of Henry's probably 3rd stint in the January Transfer with Usmanov mentioning him in a role more inspiring than just a borrowed player, has pushed Wenger a step closer to the electric chair.

Somehow, Wenger has silenced Arsenal critics with his side crushing Reading on the opponent's play-ground 5-2 where Santi 'Clause' Cazorla registered his first Hat-trick in the Premiere League.

Gunners Redeemed - For now.
This emphatic victory helped Arsenal to jump back up in the Top 5 of the League and maybe a slight outside chance to challenge the title race.

However, this could ll depend on what Wenger does in the January Transfer Window.

Other Positive news at the Emirates are the young starlets JackWilshere, Aaron Ramsey and Oxlade-Chamberlain willing to re-new  their vows with the Club for longer terms.

Questions for now at the Emirates are: Will Theo leave? Can Wenger muster up some A-class confidence and sign a Star player?

Let's see how it pans out at this weekend's away Brawl at Wigan. Do let us know what you think about it and thanks again for patiently reading it.